Senate Bill S5949A

                                BILL NUMBER:S5949A

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to
establishing the crime of non-consensual disclosure of sexually
explicit images

PURPOSE:

Relates to establishing the crime of non-consensual disclosure of
sexually explicit images.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new section, 250.70 to the New York Penal Law, which
provides that a person is guilty of non-consensual disclosure of
sexually explicit images when he or she intentionally or knowingly
discloses a photo, film, or videotape of another person whose intimate
parts are exposed or who is engaged in an act of sexual contact
without such person's consent, when a reasonable person would have
known that the person depicted would not have consented to such
disclosure.

Additionally, the disclosure must be without such person's consent and
under circumstances in which the person has a reasonable expectation
of privacy, meaning that the person has consented to the capture or
possession of an image within the context of a private or confidential
              

relationship.

250.70.1 provides definitions of "disclose", "intimate parts" and
"sexual contact."

250.70.2 provides exceptions for lawful and common practices of law
enforcement, disclosures made for a legitimate public purpose, and
situations involving voluntary exposure in public or commercial
settings, and disclosures made in the reporting of unlawful activity.

250.70.3 Non-consensual disclosure of sexually explicit images is a
class A misdemeanor.

JUSTIFICATION:

In an era of increased text messaging, social networking, and
emailing, people in intimate relationships sometimes share pictures
with each other, some of which may be sexually explicit in nature.
However, recipients of these images do not always keep the images
within the confines of an intimate relationship, and have the ability
to widely disseminate the photos on the Internet.

The non-consensual disclosure of such sexually explicit images, also
known as "revenge porn" is often provided to Internet websites, and
features photos sometimes accompanied by disparaging descriptions and
identifying details, such as where the victims live and work, as well
as links to their social network pages.

Posting these photographs online is damaging to the reputations of the
victims. These photographs have extensive negative effects, including
destroying future intimate relationships and educational and


employment opportunities. Victims are routinely threatened with sexual
assault, stalked, harassed, or fired from jobs.

New York's current distribution of unlawful surveillance law only
governs photographs taken without the subject's consent. This bill
would govern photographs that are captured consensually, as part of an
intimate, private relationship, which are later disclosed by an
individual to the public without the consent of the individual
photographed.

Criminalization is preferable to civil suits by victims because civil
suits do not deter those who upload or disclose new images after a
civil suit has ended. Furthermore, a lengthy trial is emotionally
exhausting and prohibitively expensive. Moreover, the websites that
distribute non-consensual pornography are given broad immunity for
civil liability under federal law through the Communications Decency
Act. Therefore, criminalizing disclosure of these photos may prevent
websites from benefiting from the harmful images.

This bill is also narrowly drawn so as not to infringe on First
Amendment rights, as there is no constitutional protection afforded to
individuals who consume or distribute sexually explicit images of
individuals without their consent. The bill also creates exceptions
for lawful activity.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.